


Lingering

by Depths



Series: In a mockery of recollection [6]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, Feral Behavior, Feral Link (Legend of Zelda), First Meetings, Gen, Ghosts, Light Angst, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Post-Breath of the Wild, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Team as Family, Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild: sees a cool sword, also wild: inner dog smelling a treat activate, wind has a potty mouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Depths/pseuds/Depths
Summary: The newest Link's ghosts seem friendly enough, considering they want to help Wind find him.
Relationships: Daruk & Link & Mipha & Revali & Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: In a mockery of recollection [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926892
Comments: 35
Kudos: 619





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3 of my LU feral!au. Takes place after Hunter's Prelude in my Feral!Link AU!
> 
> Kind of a light fic compared to my others but after a suicide fic i think thats needed lol. Also i just _really_ love urbosa

The sound of horses whinnying in the distance, wind in his hair. The stable was still barely in the distance, over the rolling hills. 

Wind flopped to the grass. 

_ This place is kinda nice when we’re not being attacked. Or rained on. Or chasing weird hooded guys covered in scars.  _

If he breathed in deeply, he could smell the ocean. Salt and sand and seagulls. If Wind closed his eyes he could almost imagine he was home, that he could just sit up and hear Aryll calling for him and see Grandma’s house in the distance. He shut them tightly and tried. But the only voices he could hear were those of his companions, muttering to themselves as they watched the horses run. Horses and seagulls and people. 

Wind kept his eyes shut and just listened, breathing deeply. It was nice to just be able to relax. It wasn’t like he could help with the horses, so he would take what rest he could get in this massive Hyrule––

“We’ve got your back. Even if they do decide to attack you, we're right here. You aren’t alone, little buddy.”

Winds eyes snapped open. The sky remained cloudless and blue, seagulls circling high above him. It was faint, but the salt of the ocean was in the air. This Hyrule has a real coast. He could feel it. 

None of the others reacted to the voice. They were all awake— he could hear them talking, back turned away as they watched for wild horses. They shouldn’t have been too far to hear any approaching threat. A careful glance confirmed one of Twilight’s wolf ears angled back towards him. Any other time that would have been frustrating but now it only served as a confirmation. 

Wind carefully kept himself still. 

“My Fury Should never be used on Hylians,” a woman’s voice said, “but if they give you cause to use it hold nothing back. There is little worth to an ally you cannot trust.” 

The grass remained cool and wet under him. Wild and soft. It tickled his cheeks when he delicately turned to look for the voice. Hopefully, he could disguise his shifting as if he were trying to get more comfortable. Ghostly light licked across the grass. It glittered in the dew still wetting the grass. His breath stopped in his throat when he finally shifted enough to spot them. 

A tall, foreboding woman. Her wispy glow seemed to spark at the edges of her muscled visage. A boulder of a Goron, huge hands a gentle blue-green even as they looked capable enough of splitting him apart. Someone soared further up, higher towards the peaks of the cliffs. Wind could barely make out the trailing light of his wings. A fourth light sat just a little below it, brightly glowing legs swung over the cliffside. It was remarkably small when compared to the towering figures so much closer to him.

Wind’s eyes widened at the figure sat atop the cliff. He couldn’t help the reflexive jerk as his body instinctively tried to push him to his feet. The figure was crouched low, hooded, still— if not for the spirit sitting like a beacon beside him–– hell, if not for the spirits talking so  _ loudly, _ he would never have even  _ noticed. _

The  _ (Rito? Was this what this world’s Rito had become? They were far more bird-like than Medli and her people were, even from a distance––) _ twisted abruptly, intense eyes focused on Wind. It took everything not to flinch at his trilling cry. 

“You’ve been  _ spotted, _ you idiot! Not everyone gets as distracted as the princess, unless you’re ready t—“ Their newest companion scrambled back and out of sight. The flier cursed so loudly. Wind wished he could laugh at it but instead laid rigid as the Rito went chasing after their newest Link over the cliff top and disappearing, flanked by the smallest ghost. Within seconds the cussing faded back into wind and seagulls. 

All that remained were the two larger spirits. They stood still, lax and unconcerned, and watching him. Wind did not relax. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped they hadn’t caught him staring directly at them. 

“...He should not have been able to spot her knight,” the woman stated calmly. “What keen eyes they all have, wouldn’t you say so?” 

“No kidding! I’m surprised he noticed at all, with how quiet the guy— what are you doing?”

“Kid,” the woman said, loud and  _ close _ , “I know you can see us.”

Wind opened his eyes to a sharply defined face barely inches from his own. Choking back a yelp, he jerked to his feet and scrambled back a safe couple of spaces. “How did—you—“

“Wind?” Twilight called. A quick padding of steps.  _ When did he shift back? _ Wind whipped around, hoping his face wasn’t as ashen as he felt. The older Link seemed to have a sixth sense for when something was wrong with any of them. 

Twilight took one look at his face and froze. His shoulders tensed. Wind caught his hand wandering towards the blade on his back. He quickly jumped to say something,  _ anything. _

“A-all good! A lizard jumped on my leg, it just–– it kinda startled me, ha! Ha ha....”

Sharp eyes, knowing eyes. Why did all of them have to be like that? Perceptive people were awful and perceptive family was  _ worse _ ! “If you say so. We’ve counted enough for all of us, if you ride with someone.  _ Not Because _ you’re young,” Twilight cut in before Wind could object, “you don’t even know how to ride a horse, much less tame one. Your world doesn’t have horses, right? If we put you on a wild one alone you could get bucked off or even kicked. That will do  _ more _ than smart.” 

She was right behind him. Even with the lack of lumbering steps he was sure a living Goron would have,  _ he _ was right behind him too. Shadowing him, thrice his height and even more his weight— 

A cautious Twilight versus a cautious ghost. Versus  _ two _ cautious ghosts. Wind swallowed thickly. “Fine,” he managed to squeak out. Twilight eyed him heavily once more, scanning him, scanning around him. Wind knew he’d find nothing. 

He eventually turned away, and Wind felt the cold sweat building on the back of his neck start to blot against the collar of his tunic. 

_ Ghosts can’t hurt me. They can’t touch me. Can’t touch anything. Zelda never could, after all. None of them can.  _

But this wasn’t  _ his _ Hyrule. There were glowing towers and weird buildings and giant mechanical monsters. 

_ How could he know that for sure?  _

Wind slowly turned and still jumped despite himself when he realized they were scant centimeters away from him. The wispy little glow coming off their visages made him want to sneeze and shiver at the same time, like a blow of freezing dust straight to the back of his throat. She reached out for him, slow and experimental. Wind froze. His heart thudded loud and painful the closer she got. 

He breathed out embarrassingly shaky when she passed harmlessly through him.

Painted nails on a powerful hand braced on an equally powerful hip. "Calm down, kid," She said, quirking a brow, "We are Champions of Hyrule. Even if I could, I don't plan to harm you without a good reason. My name is Urbosa."

Her name was unfamiliar. Wind just nodded. "Nice to... meet you."

He twitched despite himself when she chuckled. Bigger than him, stronger than him, and now she was  _ laughing _ at him. Nothing was fair in this Hyrule. He turned away from her with a huff only to startle one more as he remembered the second ghost. A huge hand  _ (Goddess, they were as big as himself!) _ swung forward as if to shake his. "And I am Daruk!" The Goron thundered, "Champion of the Gorons. Though I'm pretty sure that’d be obvious. Nice to meet you, little pebble!"

Wind eyed the offered hand incredulously. "My name here is  _ Wind," _ He stressed, "And I can't shake your hand. You're  _ dead." _

A nervous laugh. Wind still found himself breathing just slightly easier when Daruk pulled away, instead using his offered hand to sheepishly scratch at the back of his neck.

They really  _ couldn't _ hurt him. Not even here, in this strange and ruined world. Maybe he had looked at the danger of it all and mistaken that for all it was. After all, the people they found at the stable they wandered into had been kind, and the Koroks they passed reminded him of his own... "So that  _ was _ Link then?" He asked quietly.  _ "This _ world's Link. The Hylians we've met call him a Champion, so I assume you're all––?"

Sharp eyes glanced back towards the cliffside. "...Yes," Urbosa said firmly. "He may not remember it now–– I'm not sure he ever will. Maybe that's for the best. I don't think it would do anything but hurt him."

Wind frowned.

"It's a bit rough to explain," Daruk muttered hesitantly. For such a big guy, it was almost comedic to watch him fidget. Wind wished it could have just been that. Instead, he was becoming increasingly alarmed. What was wrong with this world’s hero? What was so complicated, that it couldn’t be simplified? They all had hardships they had faced, but the look the Goron shared with Urbosa carried deeper pain and complexity than was comfortable to see on his cheerful face. "...It would be better if you talked to the little guy yourself. Doubt that's much of an option right now though, He's gotten pretty skittish after everything."

Urbosa’s lips tightened into a thin line when she looked off towards where the hero had fled. "Regardless, it's not our story to tell."

"Wind!" Four shouted. His voice, even carried over the hills and trees to Wind, still made him flinch. "We're getting ready to go, come on!" 

Experience said he had seconds before Twilight–– or Goddess forbid,  _ Time–– _ came to fetch him. Wind scrambled to turn back. 

_ "Wait!" _ He nearly tripped over tree roots when Daruk called out. He shot a glance over his shoulder to see the Goron reaching out, hesitating midway as if he had just remembered he couldn't actually touch him. "Please," He asked, "Link can't see us. Not anymore, even though our spirits are attached to him–– and even after all these months, he can only somewhat understand us. We all know you guys don't mean any trouble for him. Even  _ Revali _ doesn't." Wind had no idea who Revali was. Someone called for him again and he looked back, fidgeting in place. Daruk's voice sped up with urgency. "It's a lot to ask, we know, but please try and talk to him. There's a lot of you, but maybe–– maybe one or two? I don't know, Mipha is better at this–– just––"

_ "Wind!" _ Legend stomped his way over, arms crossing. "What are you  _ doing? _ Did you not hear Four? We're all waiting for you!"

"A-Ah, Uh, Sorry! I'll be right there, just got a little distracted, and the gulls are so pretty, and––"

"Ya, ya, whatever, tell us about it when we're all on a horse, okay? Now come on!"

Legend turned away, seemingly intent on accompanying him, and Wind chanced a glance back towards Daruk.

"Just  _ try," _ The ghost whispered unnecessarily. Wind wasn't about to correct him. "I promise he won't hurt you. He's a gentle guy at heart."

Legend turned when he didn't move right away and Wind couldn't risk saying anything back. He hoped Daruk knew he'd at least try. If the ghost really knew the new Link enough to stick around for him, well, surely he'd know if Wind truly was safe or not.

Regardless of what he did, the new Link  _ would _ end up with them. Even if it was kicking and screaming (and  _ biting, _ Wind remembered with a wince. Warriors  _ really _ wasn't happy about that.).

At least now he had a lead for how to make things even a little smoother.


	2. The childhood friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wind finally meets Mipha, the final ghost.

Wind sat up in his bedroll the moment he felt the goosebumps rise on his arms. He squinted at the glowing figure standing just on the edge of their claimed little sandy clearing.

Revali glared down at him, feathered arms crossed. "Well?" He snapped. His volume made Wind reflexively wince, glancing around despite knowing his companions wouldn’t hear a thing. "I'm not going to stand here all night. Mipha's waiting on you." 

He about-faced and strutted off without even pausin. Wisping light trailed his path, bright even when the flickering oil lamps of Lurelin failed to reach him. Wind watched him vanish behind the bend of the surrounding cliffs, his green-blue glow reflecting off the sand.

_ Mipha. _

Wind scrambled to get up.  _ I'm going to meet her. I’m actually going to–– _ He ducked his head down when Sky turned to look at him, blinking slowly. "Can't sleep again?" He asked sleepily. His voice, even half an hour into his watch, remained hoarse and rough. "This is the third time in a row."

Wind stumbled over his bed, fumbling to roll it back up. He doubted he'd come back to sleep in it again that night. As long as he could rest against whoever he was riding with that day, he'd be fine. "Yeah," he said. Twilight's ear twitched. Wind could feel the sweat on his face. He quickly lowered his voice. "I'm, uh, gonna go for another walk. They help with the–– you know."

Sky's drooping eyes sharpened. "Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered, sitting up straighter.

Damn. Just what he needed. Wind violently shoved at the uncomfortably warm feeling in his chest. "It's ok," He squeaked out. "I'm–– fine. Just gonna walk it off, It's all good."

"Hmm." Hazy blue eyes regarded him for a moment longer before they slipped gently shut. "Okay. Don't stay out long, it's unfamiliar around here."

Wind cast a glance at the quiet village near them. The fishing village's lamp lights remained warm and bright even with no one awake to tend them, orange and red lights wavering on the trailing ocean waves. The people were kind and the air was fresh with salt. It made him feel painfully homesick. "I don't think it'll be a problem," He admitted. "I don't think monsters really come near here." Not entirely a lie, but not entirely true. They had noticed a handful of lizalfos on the curving beach just beside the village–– but the monsters never strayed any closer than that. 

He doubted Link’s ghosts would actively put him in danger, either. But that wouldn’t really help him reassure anyone but himself. 

"Still. Be careful. Time will have a fit if you're not back by sunrise."

Wind winced. Sky  _ really _ didn't have to remind him. "I'll be quick," he promised and slipped out of camp. "Real quick. Super quick." All he got was a soft hum in response. "...Don't fall asleep, Sky. I'll be back soon."

Another hum, even softer than the first. Wind rolled his eyes and started off down the beach. 

He didn't have to go too far. Revali waited just around the bend of the cliffs, far enough to be out of sight if he were alive. The Rito's glare remained as distrustful and irritated as ever, practically bristling the moment Wind rounded the rocks. 

Beside him stood a Zora girl. 

"Mipha?" Wind breathed. 

Petite. The smallest and least intimidating of the ghosts he had seen. Everything about her, from the delicate fins framing her soft face to the graceful clasp of her hands. Small, delicate hands. Kept in clear and blatant open sight. Weaponless, relaxed. Everything about her was seamlessly kind. She knew she didn’t have to reassure him, didn’t she? No one was that smoothly accommodating. 

He looked up into her eyes and felt his back stiffen slightly. It was a familiar sort of tension. Like the kind when Tetra first transformed, her face strange and her dress white and clean of ocean salt. 

Mipha’s gentle eyes were sharp with the trained dignity and poise of a royal. 

"Hello," She said. "It is very kind of you to agree to meet us, even away from your friends." 

Wind looked away from the claws the tips of her fingers. Even carefully held out of immediate sight, she was as much a Champion as them all. "I'm trying my best," He said. Mipha had never left her Link's side. Daruk always said she was  _ sleeping, _ Urbosa always said she was  _ guarding. _ He didn't know what either truly meant, for a ghost. But she never  _ strayed _ the way the other ghosts did. "Since  _ you're _ here, does that mean...?"

"Yes." She drew back a step. "Follow me. He's by the ruins."

_ That could mean anything. There are so many ruins here. _

Something told him she wouldn't appreciate that comment, pretty and polite or not. Wind just nodded and fell into step beside her. He was surprised that Revali walked with them. The Rito huffed and scoffed every single time he so much as caught sight of Wind in the corner of his eye as if the very reminder he existed was irritating. 

Why he didn't just vanish, or even fly ahead, Wind had no idea. The guy only seemed tenser and tenser the farther they walked.

"Almost there," Mipha said, her voice softened to a tiny whisper. "He's–– Link is... he's very easily startled. He was before too, but I––" She tugged her tail fin over his shoulder, hands running over it nervously. "Please be careful," She asked. 

Wind had a feeling it wasn't himself she was asking him to be careful for. He swallowed thickly and nodded again. "How am I supposed to do this?" he asked as quietly as possible. It still felt too loud. He winced. "Do I just... go up to him? Wouldn't he run away?"

Revali rolled his eyes and Wind bristled. He was trying his best to be sensitive to the jerk's  _ friend, _ damn it, would it kill him to just be cooperative? "Make a racket," He said haughtily. "Pretend you're looking for fish or something, or cool rocks or whatever it is you do. He's like a damn bird, gets interested over anything shiny." Wind raised an eyebrow. He wondered how mad the other would get if he pointed out who the real bird there was. "Just pretend he isn't there. He'll come to  _ you, _ or not at all."

He swore the guy muttered something about him  _ not being the princess, after all. _ Wind cut himself off from saying anything mildly insulting when Mipha practically beamed at Revali, fins wagging happily. "Yes, that'd do it," She praised. "You're a good friend, Revali." 

All of Revali's feathers fluffed up. Wind snickered into his hand.

"What–– Whatever," He snapped. "Just get a move on already!" A flash of blue-green and the Rito was gone. Returned to his Link, or wherever spirits went when they weren't physically manifested, Wind supposed.

Mipha smiled at him, delicately patting his head. He couldn't even be mad, not with the way he could almost imagine how her hands would feel, gentle and cool. Like a fresh water pool in summer, shallow enough to stand in… "Good luck," She breathed, and when he next blinked she had faded away too.

Wind took a deep breath and walked around the rocks between him and their newest Link. 

He couldn't immediately see him. Couldn't immediately see much of  _ anything. _ The cliffs seemed to curve around their little corner of the beach, shrouding the supposed ruins there in darkness. 

The only source of light Wind could make out was the glow of one of the strange shrines reflecting off the sand, and the two glowing flat pedestals before it. It's faint blue light made it just barely possible to make out the dark shapes of stones half-buried in the sand. 

Not enough to make out any silhouette that might be Link.

Wind realized he had stopped moving. Squinting in the darkness, he stepped a little further into the space. "Wow," He muttered to himself. The place wasn't very big. Not compared to some of the sprawling ruins they had seen just on the way there. But in that dark, quiet space, without any of the others at his back... he felt small in the face of it. As if the age and lingering tragedy of this world was settling back in on him, cold and slow. 

It had been easier for him, compared to the others, to ignore it. He no longer had that luxury. 

_ He really… feels at home here? _

_ (What happened here?) _

He gingerly reached out to touch the walls, hoping it'd help him walk without tripping. His fingers glided over ocean-wet lichens and overgrown clumps of moss. It was a bit easier to see closer to the shrine–– or maybe that was his eyes finally adjusting. Wind gulped, retracting his guiding hand to tentatively lay on the little screen-pedestal thing at the front of the glowing structure. 

It seemed to thrum cold under his palm but nothing happened. Wind shivered and pulled away. "That's... kind of cool. I wonder what these are even meant to be?"

The dark space carved into the shrine shifted.

Wind stiffened. He immediately forced himself to relax. Trying not to panic, he turned around and instead starting poking around the ruins at his feet. The shadows hadn’t fled, but it wasn’t as if it could when he was blocking the way. When he had accidentally  _ cornered it. _ The tension remained icy hot under his skin even safely stepping away from the mouth of the shrine. 

"Too bad I don't know what any of this is," Wind tried, a little louder. Sweat ran down his neck. "It's  _ really _ annoying seeing all these neat areas and having no clue what the hell they're supposed to be." 

He edged around the weird pendant thing a few feet from the front of the shrine, faking as if he were looking closer and blinking in actual surprise to see it was dimly glowing. "Huh. Why is this glowing too? It's–– not the same, maybe it's––" Wind grinned, suddenly taken up with a bit of actual excitement. "Oh, this place has  _ got _ to have treasure," he whispered. "No way it doesn't."

Anxiety fading a little, he began carefully peering at the sand, testing if anything was buried underneath. It was always possible to find something underneath. They had found a handful of chests just abandoned half-buried in the sand along the beach, why not there in the ruins? Everything was worth a try. If he failed to bait out the ruins resident wraith, he could at least bring something back for the others to see. Maybe Time wouldn’t get as mad that he snuck out if he did. 

Even if he found nothing–– Wind's heart sped up when he registered the tiny, incremental shifting sound of footsteps in the sand. Too many years of carefully hearing for Aryll, trying to sneak up on him in the sand; there was no way he could miss it even on this elusive new Link–– there was another treasure to catch.

"There has to be something," Wind drawled slowly. He pushed the balls of his feet deep into the sand, slightly disappointed to not feel the familiar press of buried metal. Hopefully it would double as a way to stop him from impulsively moving and startling the other again. "Somewhere in here."

_ Shhft. Shfft. shfft. _

Sweat started to build back up on his forehead. Wind tried his best to keep his breath even. He was so far along, but what the hell was he supposed to do when the new Link actually  _ spoke _ to him? What was the next step? He felt that the Champions had cheated him, a little bit. They were surely watching him, wherever they were, and yet they had left him to do this alone!

_ Shfft. Shfft. _

Wind curled his toes into the sand until his joints popped.

_ Shfft. _

"Wh..." A rough cough, quiet and strangled as if the speaker had been punched in the throat. "What err–– are doo-eng?"

_ Goddess, I am going to fucking throw up from nerves, aren’t I? _ Wind jerkily whipped around, cursing himself when the other Link startled back a step. He flailed a little in panic, only becoming more frantic when his sudden movements made him step further back. "A-ah, fuck, don't run! Or leave! Uh, please––  _ please _ stay?" 

A rough noise rumbled out of the dark and Wind nearly tripped over himself instinctively looking for Twilight only to realize it had come from  _ this _ Link. Not one of his. Not the one that was literally a wolf. 

Wind cocked his head, more perplexed than anything. "Did you just––  _ snarl _ at me?" He asked incredulously. 

The other Link stopped, staring at him. For a long moment, Wind wasn't even sure he had heard him. Then, with a jerky little movement, the guy's head twitched to the side. His hair ( _ Long, _ Wind realized with a jolt.  _ Way longer than mine–– way longer than any of ours. How does he even deal with all of that? _ ) swept off his back to follow the motion. What looked like several buckets of sand seemed to fall with it.

It was weird enough to stop him in his tracks. Everything about this world's Link seemed to be. He forced himself to tear his eyes from the sand. "Um––" Inquisitive, bright blue eyes. Wind couldn't help but compare them to the light of the shrine structures. He abruptly remembered the other had asked him something. "I, uh. W-what?"

Link squinted at him. Even in the dark, Wind knew he was frowning.  _ "You," _ He said pointedly. His visage shifted, shadowed limbs moving awkwardly, and Wind realized he was pointing at him. "You. Wh-ut are doo-engh?"

_ What an... accent this guy has. _ "Looking for treasure," He said hesitantly. "Do you... want to help...?"  _ Please say yes. For the love of Hylia. This is so awkward–– _

_ "Help?" _ Link shuffled carefully closer. The rising moonlight swept across his face, outlining his ragged clothes, the twigs stuck in his hair, the smear that was probably mud on his cheek–– His face twisted in urgency and he gestured at Wind, fingers forming near familiar motions. "Need help?" He said again.

_ Oh. _ "Oh, I–– not that sort of help," Wind rushed out. "I'm not in any danger, you don't have to sound so worried. I can take care of myself, see?" Before he even managed to think about what he was doing, he yanked his sword from his back. The moonlight reflected brightly off of the blade, shining off the metal and right into flinching bright eyes. .

To his surprise, Link didn't startle or attack him. At the sight of the weapon, the hero even crept  _ closer. _ Wind went carefully still as he approached. He felt like he couldn't even breathe when scraggy, long hair brushed over his hands as Link bent down for a better look.

How he even saw in the shadows of the ruins was beyond Wind. He just did his best to not move an inch. Not even to twitch. His heart was going to burst out of his throat.

He could vaguely register the other Link poking at his sword. A shadowed finger traced gently along its side, Link humming high and short in the back of his throat at the feel of it. "New," he gruffly managed. Wind blinked. He nearly dropped it when that same hand poked at the sharp edge. "Sharp."

"Yeah, it  _ is!" _ Wind tried not to yelp. He was failing, a little. He quickly pulled it away before the other could poke at it again. He stumbled back a step when Link followed it, wide eyes bright and curious. He twitched when Wind reflexively pressed the palm of his other hand to his chest, trying to keep him back, but didn't jump away.  _ "Very _ sharp! You're going to hurt yourself, man, don't just––"

_ "Wind!" _

They both sprung apart. Wind smacked into the cliffside. The other Link rolled away from him and landed back on his feet as if he had never fallen, moonlight reflecting pale silver off his bared teeth and scars and––  _ Goddess, shit, _ those were a  _ lot _ of scars. He hadn't really had the chance to see them before, in all the chaos of their first meeting––

The other Link whipped around, scrambling bare handed up the cliffside with a speed unhuman. 

"Wait!" Wind yelped at the same time as Twilight rounded the cliffs, catching sight of him. "Wait, don't go, it's okay!  _ Wait!" _

His boots disappeared over the edge. Wind turned on Twilight with a snarl violent enough to nearly silence Twilight's own.  _ "I almost had him!" _ He shouted. "What good are your fucking wolf senses if you can't even realize I was in the goddamn middle of a delicate fucking––"

Time stepped around the cliffs, the others hot on his heels. Wind's mouth snapped shut without his consent at the hard look on his face. 

Their makeshift leader didn’t even bother to mention their yelling or Wind’s cursing. He didn’t even bring up that Wind had snuck out. "We don't have time for this." His eye followed the path up the cliff the new Link had taken. "We can still follow him. The locals said there was a path from Lurelin straight towards another village called Hateno."

"You––” Wind’s voice was unnaturally high pitched. It squeaked embarrassingly loud out of him and he grit his teeth, rubbing at his throat. “––You think he might be headed there?" He was still fighting to come down from the adrenaline high of being startled  _ and _ being angry. It took careful effort to unclench his jaw enough to speak. It was maybe a little irrational–– he had definitely taken longer than he meant to–– but he couldn’t even look at Twilight without wanting to throw something. All that work and sleepless nights, for nothing––! "He could be going  _ anywhere, _ how could you know that?"

Time's expression was set in stone. "Just a hunch," He said, and when he turned and made his way back towards Lurelin, Wind didn't feel as if there was anything left to do but follow him. 

At least he hadn’t been yelled at. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow things happened and now this is 3k! nice. 
> 
> The next fic, things will finally start to get solved-- and here comes Zelda 👏 my girl gonna fix this while being kickass 
> 
> As usual lmk if i missed any mistakes <3
> 
> find me at [Leviathiane](https://leviathiane.tumblr.com) on tumblr!


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